Temporary and Permanent Shoring Design utilizing soldier beams, grade beams, tiebacks and lagging, for stabilizing the slope failure along the head scarp and buttress keyway.
Case Study
In the early morning of June 1, 2005, a landslide began moving in the Bluebird Canyon area of Laguna Beach, California, an area of notable historic slope failures. According to the USGS, “No rainfall or earthquake activity occurred during or immediately before the landslide movement. This movement is almost certainly related to the extremely heavy winter rains that occurred from December through February. Rainfall from the winter season has been slowly percolating downward through the soil and is gradually raising ground-water levels.”
The Blue Bird Canyon landslide was a very significant event that covered an area seven acres wide. It damaged or destroyed 19 homes, forced evacuation of 300 more homes and completely took out a major street.
Hannes Richter, a geotechnical engineer with Geofirm of Laguna Beach, brought in Earth Support Systems to design the stabilization system for the landslide area. “Earth Support Systems became a critical part of our team,” Richter explained.
The situation called for temporary shoring and stability to hold back the landslide while storm drainage systems were being installed. In other areas of the landslide, semi-permanent shoring was needed. The area along the edge of the landslide had to be stabilized to ensure that more houses wouldn’t be lost.
Richter continued, “It was a fast-track operation that required construction monitoring of landslide movement and close coordination with the contractor and the contractor team. In a de-stabilized situation such as a landslide,” Richter emphasized, “unexpected situations keep coming up, but you can’t get rattled. ESSI knows how to think on the run and solve problems in the field as they arise – and that is the key difference between an average consultant and an exceptional consultant Over the years, Geofirm has worked with Earth Support Systems on many projects and will continue to do so.”
The Bluebird Canyon Landslide was a $33-million project that took 2-1/2 years to complete.
I’ve known and worked with Will Fischetti for years before he started Earth Support Systems. The key advantage of working with his group, in addition to their technical competence and engineering skills is that Will has extensive construction experience. He has worked with contractors and for contractors, so he knows what is practical and reasonable to build. When the Blue Bird Landslide in Laguna Beach forced evacuation of over 300 homes, Earth Support Systems became a critical part of our team. It was a $33-million project that took 2-1/2 years to complete. In a de-stabilized situation such as a landslide, unexpected situations keep coming up, but you can’t get rattled. Will’s team knows how to think on the run and solve problems in the field as they arise – and that is the key difference between an average consultant and an exceptional consultant. We’ve worked together on dozens of projects and will continue to do so.” – Hannes Richter, Professional Engineer, Geofirm, Laguna Beach, CA